Squadron Service - NATO

The NATO Airborne Early Warning Force (NAEWF) was established in January 1980 and granted full NATO command headquarters status by NATO’s Defence Planning Committee on 17 October 1980. NATO AEW Force Command is co-located with Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium. While NATO AEW supports the two major NATO commands, Allied Command Atlantic and Allied Command Europe, SHAPE exercises administrative control over the force.

The NAEWF consists of two operational elements. The NATO E-3A Component at Geilenkirchen, Germany, operates the 17 NATO E-3A aircraft. The NATO E-3A squadrons are manned by integrated international crews from 12 nations (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United States). The E-3As have been operating from the main operating base (MOB) at Geilenkirchen, since February 1982. Forward operating bases (FOBs) are located at Trapani, Italy; Aktion, Greece; and Konya, Turkey. There is also a Forward operating location (FOL) at Orland, Norway.

The second component is Number 8 Squadron Royal Air Force, which operates seven E-3D aircraft. The E-3D Component is manned only by RAF personnel and its Main Operating Base is RAF Waddington.

The first NATO E-3A was delivered in early 1982, and the last aircraft was delivered in 1985. The NATO E-3A Component reached full operational capability during 1988.

In October 1991 the first NATO E-3A fitted with the AN/AYR-1 ESM system (LX-N90442) returned to Geilenkirchen from the Boeing plant.

NATO reduced its Sentry presence at Keflavik, Iceland, on April 1st 1992, when responsibility for the detachment reverted to the 552nd ACW. It had been shared by the USAF and NATO since 1990.

From October 9th 1992 NATO began to enforce the no-fly zone over Bosnia. NATO and RAF Sentries monitored activity from Hungarian airspace, protected by Hungarian MiG-21s on 5-minute alert. NATO, RAF and French Air Force E-3s were flying a total of four flights per day, two over Hungary and two over the Adriatic. The patrols were nearly always in daylight. RAF E-3Ds involved in the operation were carrying some personnel from other NATO countries. E-3s were operating from Geilenkirchen, Trapania, Previza, Aviano, Waddington and Avord.

On November 21st 1994 NATO aircraft attacked the Udbina airfield in Serb-occupied Croatian territory. A NATO E-3A operating out of Trapani and a RAF E-3D from Aviano provided radar surveillance for the raid.

The E-3D component of the NATO AEW Force (RAF 8 Squadron) was declared fully operational in February (?) 1995.

Sentries would have been involved when NATO aircraft attacked Bosnian Serb positions on August 30th to September 1st 1995, and again from September 5th to the 14th.

Also in October, NATO E-3A LX-N90442 travelled to Geilenkirchen for inspection and initial operational test & evaluation (IOT&E) testing. This marked the completion of installation and checkout of Mod Block 1 system upgrades and completion of RSIP installation on 90442. This aircraft (also known as N-1) is assigned by NATO to support enhancement programs

NATO E-3A LX-N90457 was written off at Previza Air Base, Greece, on July 14th 1996. The aircraft aborted its takeoff after ingesting birds, and ran off the runway. It ended up with its nose on rocks, and broke its back. One of the crew was injured.

NATO E-3s took part in Operation Allied Force against Serbia which started on March 24th 1999. Some RSIP-equipped aircraft took part in this operation, apparently with good results.

In 1999 NATO painted E-3A LX-N90442 in special marks to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its formation.

On October 12th 1999 Boeing announced that eleven of NATO's 17 E-3s had been retrofitted with RSIP kits; the whole fleet had received the kit by February 4th 2000.

On December 6th 1999 Boeing announced that the upgrade of the first NATO E-3 under the Mid-Term Modernisation Program had begun. This may be on LX-N90453, which was noted at Wichita on December 3rd.

During the period October 9th - 20th 2000 E-3s from the RAF, French Air Force and NATO were at RAF Waddington over to participate in an exercise entitled "Joint Tactical Information Distribution System Operators' Tactics Meet" (JOTM) designed to advance the means by which they share and use information crucial to winning and keeping command of the air in wartime.

On November 14th 2000 Boeing announced that it had completed the hardware upgrade on the first NATO E-3 (thought to be LX-N90453) as part of the NATO Mid-Term Modernisation Program.

The next phase was the installation of the mission computing software, and the engineering, test and evaluation phase leading to a flight test qualification programme which began at the end of January 2001.

USAF and RAF E-3s played an important part in Operation "Enduring Freedom" over Afghanistan, which started on October 7th 2001. As part of the NATO contribution, five NATO E-3s and crews were detached to the USA, where they assisted the 552nd ACW with the defence of the continental United States. The aircraft involved were: LX-N 90448, 90450, 90452, 90453 and 90458.

In December 2001 Boeing received a $37.6 million contract to upgrade the NATO E-3 fleet to meet requirements for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM), to allow the aircraft to operate in areas where ATC vertical separation has been reduced. The aircraft will also be fitted with an Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS). The upgrades are expected to be completed by 2005.

In January 2002 the North Atlantic Council approved the deployment of two additional E-3 Sentry aircraft to the US for Operation Eagle Assist, NATO's support of US home defence operations.

On May 16th 2002 the seven NATO E-3s deployed to Tinker AFB left the base to return to Europe. During the deployment, which began on October 9th 2001, the NATO aircraft flew over 360 sorties and logged over 4300 flying hours in support of Operation Noble Eagle.

On December 19th 2002 Boeing received a contract modification to continue and complete the Mid-Term Modernization Program on NATO’s fleet of 17 AWACS aircraft.

The agreement, which increases the value of the Mid-Term contract to more than $1.3 billion, was awarded by the Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. acting as agent for the NATO Airborne Early Warning Programme Management Agency. The upgrade includes integration of state-of-the-art enhancements to the fleet’s computers, displays, communications, navigation and target identification systems.

Under the contract modification, additional work packages will provide engineering and development to integrate new commercial-off-the-shelf electronics and computing systems, as well as an option for the production and retrofit program.

On February 20th 2003 the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General James L. Jones, ordered the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force to deploy to Turkey with their E-3A aircraft. SACEUR's decision followed the NATO Defence Planning Committee announcement on February 19th, "authorising the military authorities to implement, as a matter of urgency, defensive measures to assist Turkey."

The deployment to Turkey provided surveillance and early warning in order to maintain the integrity of Turkish airspace. Two aircraft arrived at the Turkish Air Force base at Konya on February 26th 2003 and began flying missions shortly afterwards.

On April 16th 2003 the North Atlantic Council agreed to conclude its formal consultations on Turkey's security under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. As a result, NATO's Defence Planning Committee (DPC) decided that Operation Display Deterrence, NATO's defensive deployments to southeast Turkey, had met its objectives. The DPC therefore agreed to conclude the operation through a gradual redeployment of NATO forces from Turkey.

Two NATO E-3As (including LX-N90456) arrived at Edwards AFB on August 15th 2003 to assist the Edwards F-16 Mid-Life Update test program evaluate its improved datalink system, Link-16, in airborne interoperability tests. The two E-3As departed Edwards on August 24th.

Boeing announced on 30th November 2005 that the $1.32 billion NATO E-3 Mid-Term Modernization program had begun. The work was carried out by EADS at Manching, under subcontract to Boeing. The first upgrade is scheduled to be completed in November 2006.

The upgrade is essentially the same as that undergone by LX-N90453 in 2000. The upgrades underwent operational test and evaluation trials in Europe earlier in 2005.

Aircraft from the NATO AEW&C force provided airspace surveillance during the FIFA World Cup from June 7th to July 9th 2006. Both NATO E-3As and RAF E-3Ds participated in the mission.

On July 3rd 2006 Hungary officially joined the NATO AWACS programme.

On August 17th-18th 2006 a NATO E-3A AWACS aircraft visited Podwidz air base in Poland, as a prelude to Poland joining the NATO AWACS programme later in the year.

The aircraft conducted two flights during its visit to Podwidz. On the first day, the Polish Defence Minister and the top military brass were on board. On the second day, Polish general officers from all services were aboard.

Poland will be the 16th nation to join the NATO AWACS programme. It will participate in funding the programme and will contribute personnel to the NATO AWACS Programme Management Agency, the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force Command and the NATO E-3A Component.

NATO E-3As are to receive the Northrop Grumman Large Aircraft Infra-Red Countermeasures (LAIRCM) defensive system under a $104m contract signed on Bovember 6th 2006. The LAIRCM program will defend aircraft against infared missiles, and comprises 17 Group A kits, 7 Group B kits, 10 additional Group B kits without small laser transmitter assemblies, and supporting spares. All work will be completed by the end of 2009.

LAIRCM works by directing a high-intensity modulated laser beam into the missile seeker, which would cause the missile to break lock. This happens automatically without any crew input being required.

The first E-3A to be upgraded under the Mid-Term Modernisation Programme was delivered to NATO in a ceremony at EADS Manching on November 21st 2006. The remaining 16 aircraft will all be upgraded by the end of 2008. The enhancements include:

NATO has revealed one of its E-3As in a new colour scheme to commemorate the type's 25th anniversary in alliance service. Delivered in 1981, LX-N90443 was painted at Marco Polo Venice airport during March 2007.

The NATO E-3A Component marked 25 years of service on June 16th/17th 2007 with an open house at Geilenkirchen Air Base in Germany.

On June 2nd 2008 the NAEW&CF E-3A Component deployed aircraft and personnel to Darwin in Australia to participate in Exercise Pitch Black. The Component provided one E-3A (LX-N90450) and one TCA to support scheduled operations from Darwin. More than 80 crewmembers from 14 different nations were deployed, supported also by liaison officers, logistic, communication and medical personnel.

NATO E-3A LX-N90452 arrived at Seymour-Johnson AFB on August 8th 2008 to conduct training missions with 4th Fighter Wing aircrews. The deployment was due to end on August 27th. Exercise Pitch Black 2008 (PB08) is a major Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) led exercise with Australian Defense Forces (ADF) and international participation. It was held in northern Australia from June 6th to 27th 2008. Deployed aircraft deployed to Geilenkirchen on July 1st.

On December 3rd modification of the final NATO E-3 under the Mid-Term Modernisation Programme was completed by EADS under subcontract to Boeing. The enhancements include:

E-3A LX-N90455 made an emergency landing at Trapani Birgi on March 4th 2009 due to landing gear problems.

In June 2009 the Turkish government approved a request from NATO to station a number of E-3s in the country to provide air traffic control services over Afghanistan. Three or four E-3As will be deployed at Konya AB.

In January 2011 NATO deployed two E-3As on a three-month mission to Afghanistan.

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© David Hastings